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On February 23, 1836, the siege and battle at the Alamo began, as 189 men defended the mission from the 1800-strong Mexican Army during the Texas Revolution. The small Texas force, including Jim Bowie, William Travis and Davy Crockett, would hold against the Mexican Army for 13 days and eventually cause as many as 600 Mexican soldiers to be killed or wounded in the battle before falling. The defense of the Alamo would become a rallying cry for Texas, leading to the Mexican Army defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21 and ending the Revolution with Texas...

The Texas Declaration of Independence (March 2, 1836) The Texas Declaration of Independence was produced, literally, overnight. Its urgency was paramount, because while it was being prepared, the Alamo in San Antonio was under seige by Santa Anna's army of Mexico. Immediately upon the assemblage of the Convention of 1836 on March 1, a committee of five of its delegates were appointed to draft the document. The committee, consisting of George C. Childress, Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney, prepared the declaration in record time. It was briefly reviewed, then adopted by the delegates of the convention...

(On This Day In History) June 22, 1876: General Santa Anna Dies In Mexico City Embittered and impoverished, the once mighty Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna dies in Mexico City. Born in 1792 at Jalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Santa Anna was the son of middle-class parents. As a teen, he won a commission in the Spanish army and might have been expected to live out an unspectacular career as a middle-level army officer. However, the young Santa Anna quickly distinguished himself as a capable fighter and leader, and after 1821, he gained national prominence in the successful Mexican war for...

San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle ReenactmentFestival celebrates 170th anniversary of battle The San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Reenactment on Saturday, April 22, 2006 is an independence celebration of Texas' legendary Battle of San Jacinto and the enduring, mythic spirit of Texas. The Festival is a full day of music, entertainment, food, games, and fun set amidst living history. The Battle Reenactment is one of the largest in the state, complete with cannons, muskets, horses, pyrotechnics and hundreds of reenactors, dressed in uniforms that duplicate the real dress of the day. The reenactment includes the Runaway Scrape; the...

<p>The Texas Revolution has been the subject of countless articles, books, songs, and films. It is one of the foundations of our history and heritage as Texans and a part of our national story as Americans. Names like Travis, Bowie, Seguin, and Crockett and places like the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto resonate with all of us, serving to shape our personal relationship with our collective history. Yet there are actually very few original documents - primary sources - that have survived to tell us this story.</p>